The walls supposedly are always closing in on Donald Trump. The end is always beginning. He’s going to quit. He’s going to be impeached and removed. He’s going to decide not to run again. Somehow or other, he’s going to relieve everyone of the responsibility of ever thinking of him again, and especially of the […]
Op-Eds
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Nancy Pelosi playing politics with State of the Union speech
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has written President Trump to suggest that he postpone his State of the Union address, citing her “security concerns” over the ability of the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security to protect government officials during the shutdown. With all due respect, that is fake news. Pelosi isn’t worried […]
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The State of the Union address should go away forever
By Stephen Mihm Bloomberg Opinion House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a keen sense of history. By demanding that President Donald Trump either postpone the State of the Union address until the government shutdown ends or deliver a written statement, she has raised the possibility that we might finally get rid of a ritual that has […]
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Democrats run off to Puerto Rico
“He who excuses himself, accuses himself.” — Puerto Rican proverb More than 109 lobbyists and 39 Democrat Members of Congress attended a “winter retreat” last weekend in Puerto Rico, ostensibly to help raise funds for damage caused by hurricane Maria in 2017, reports Fox News. The fun in the sun was enhanced by a limited […]
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A tragedy of errors on the wall
All sides are digging in on the issue of the closure of part of the federal government. When all parties dig firmly into extreme positions, it is easy to find fault. So I will. On one hand is the president who has decided that this is his last stand. The question is whether he is […]
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News stories spotlight how there is still a need to act
Our topic for today: three stories and a letter. The stories all made recent headlines. The first was about the state of Florida posthumously pardoning the Groveland Four, a group of African-American men who suffered torture, prison and murder after being falsely accused of raping a white woman in 1949. The second concerns broad Republican […]
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The EU is a great idea that has gone awry
NEW YORK — As we watch Britain going through the paroxysms relating to Brexit, it is easy to view its decision to leave the European Union as an act of foolishness, a self-inflicted wound that will impoverish Britons for years to come. Europe is Britain’s largest market, taking in almost half of the country’s exports. […]
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Will the global credit boom go bust?
WASHINGTON — We are in the midst of a worldwide credit boom that may be without precedent. The debt explosion suggests that the global economy — all the national economies combined — is being driven heavily by massive government and private borrowing. Is this debt buildup stable? Or is it the harbinger of a sharp […]
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On drug prices, Americans are the real suckers
Drugmakers rang in the new year by raising prices on hundreds of products — American prices, that is. Americans focused on the celebrations weren’t paying attention. Allergan led the parade, hiking its prices by 10 percent on more than two dozen drugs. But note this: It didn’t raise the price of Botox, the anti-wrinkle treatment. […]
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FBI actions trample our political order
The FBI took it upon itself to determine whether the president of the United States is a threat to national security. No one had ever before thought that this was an appropriate role for the FBI, a subordinate agency in the executive branch, but Donald Trump isn’t the only one in Washington trampling norms. The […]